Reactive arthritis
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Reactive arthritis
I was diagnosed with giardiasis a year ago after having gut issues for many years. It is thought that I had the infestation for all of those years! I had plantar fasciitis for several months prior to diagnosis. The giardiasis was treated with Flagyl but then diagnosed with LC last January. I developed bilateral knee pain during that time. From no pain to crippled almost overnight. I felt that this is related to the LC but now after research feel that it is reactive arthritis due to the giardiasis. Of course nsaids are out of the question with the LC but I am wondering if the use of sulfasalazine would be the drug of choice? I did note that the knee pain was a little better on Endocort but I only took that for a couple of months due to cost and my gut feeling better. Any thoughts from you all?? I have an appointment with my general practitioner next month and would love to go in with lots of information on my behalf. Thanks in advance!
Yes, sulfasalazine would be the drug of choice if you can tolerate it — a lot of people react to sulfa drugs, unfortunately. It's a very old drug, so it's very inexpensive. These days the prices of drugs are not based on what they cost to develop and manufacture. They're based on the age of the drug. But unlike other products, the prices of drugs never go down — they only go up. Strange. At least that's true in the U. S. I doubt that it's true in other countries, because other countries aren't controlled by the drug companies the way we are. 
17 years ago, when I was still in my 50s, I had to use a cane just to get around because of severe arthritic knee pain. After I corrected my diet and my gut healed, I threw the cane away, and today (at 76), my knees are still just fine.
Yes, the giardiasis can predispose you to the development of arthritis, but so can MC. I never had giardiasis, but my arthritis symptoms (mostly in my knees, back, neck, elbows, and fingers), were debilitating before I corrected the problem. I never took any medications for it — it resolved automatically when my gut healed.
Tex
17 years ago, when I was still in my 50s, I had to use a cane just to get around because of severe arthritic knee pain. After I corrected my diet and my gut healed, I threw the cane away, and today (at 76), my knees are still just fine.
Yes, the giardiasis can predispose you to the development of arthritis, but so can MC. I never had giardiasis, but my arthritis symptoms (mostly in my knees, back, neck, elbows, and fingers), were debilitating before I corrected the problem. I never took any medications for it — it resolved automatically when my gut healed.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.